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For the study, published in the journal Appetite, researchers looked at the effects of chewing gum on 80 undergraduate students.

Half of the subjects were given gum - both sugar-free and sugar-added - and chewed either prior to or throughout testing.

Boosting grades: The improved brain activity is down to 'mastication-induced arousal' and lasts for around 20 minutes after chewing, researchers found

Pupils were then given a ‘battery of cognitive tasks’, such as repeating random numbers backward and solving logic puzzles.

Their results were then compared with subjects who did not chew gum.

While students who chewed gum for five minutes before a test achieved better scores on average, chewing during the test was found to have an opposite effect as it distracted the brain from its main task.

This may be due to ‘a sharing of resources by cognitive and masticatory processes,’ researchers, led by Dr. Serge Onyper, said.

New findings: The study by the psychology department at St Lawrence University, pictured, proves even minor activity can boost brain performance

The results define similar research carried out at the University of Northumbria in England in 2002.

At the time, one of the lead researchers, Dr Andrew Scholey, explained the positive effect of chewing gum on the brain.

‘We don't think that it is anything in the gum, but that the resistance of the gum and the act of mastication that is making the difference,’ he said.

‘We found an increase in the heart rate of five or six beats per minute when they were chewing gum.

‘This may be unrelated to brain function, but on the other hand an increase in the blood delivery of oxygen to the brain may increase cognitive function.’